Elon Musk reportedly threatened to resign if Tesla caved to the SEC

Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Joshua
Lott/Getty Images

• Elon Musk initially threatened to resign if Tesla’s
  board accepted a settlement offered by the Securities and
  Exchange Commission, the New York Times reports.
• The SEC filed a lawsuit against the Tesla CEO over
  “false and misleading statements” he tweeted about taking the
  company private in August.
• According to the Times, the SEC had initially offered
  the Tesla board a settlement ahead of filing the suit but Musk
  insisted the board reject it and endorse him, or else he would
  resign on the spot.
• Musk u-turned on his obstinacy after Tesla’s stock
  plummeted, and his lawyers negotiated a new settlement with the
  SEC, The Times reported.

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk initially threatened to resign if
the company’s board accepted the first settlement offered last
Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),

the New York Times reports.

The Times story describes Musk’s flip-flopping in
response to the
SEC announcing it would sue Musk on Thursday September 27.

Prior to that Thursday announcement, according to The Times, the
SEC offered to settle with Tesla’s board. But Musk told the board
in a phone call that if Tesla accepted the deal he would resign
on the spot.

The SEC duly announced it was suing and that it wanted to bar
Musk from leading a public company. Tesla’s stock plummeted
through Friday.

According to the Times, Musk’s lawyers reportedly returned
to the SEC the next day to arrange a new settlement, this time
approved by Musk. This resulted in
a $20 million fine and Musk having to step down as chairman for
at least three years.

Had Musk accepted the original settlement, he would only have
been barred as chairman for two years, the Times reported.

Tesla’s
share price rose again once news filtered through of the
settlement.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.